I just want to find out if anyone can tell me what kind of drill (hilti or bosch) do you need for route bolting. If you can comment on wattage, weight of drill and price for a new one, that would be really be cool. Oja, and where could I get one?

Does Bosch even make a cordless drill strong enough for drilling into rock?
Or are Bosch and Hilti one company?

Hilti and Bosch both make battery powered drills that can be used for bolting rock. The Hili modle commonly used is called the \"TE6\" I think the Bocsh one is called an \"Eliminator\"

They are about a 36v drill. You will need a hammer action and a SDS plus chuck. I am sure if you contact the dealers they will be able to give you more details. Look them up in the phone book.or look at the websites.

I guess they will be priced at about R5000.00 for the drill and a battery, and another R3000.00 for a spare battery.

Guy wrote:A few CT climbers have recently bought Kress drills from UPAT (they cost R6600 including a spare battery). I've used mine a few times and it is pretty impressive. The drill comes with a cord, so you can leave the battery in you pack.

New Hilti's are stupidly expensive.

The new Bosch is highly rated, but availability is a problem and they are more expensive than the Kress.

I've just bought an 18v Matabo(on company acc, what a pleasure). SDS, with Li-lon batteries. These are suposed to have good shelf & adhoc use life. Comes with a spare bat at R3990. I drilled 9 holes with a battery in hard rock. Drill with battery weighs 3.2KG. Thats FRED light.

Hilti drills are the real deal, but their batteries don't last under rock climbing conditions. That is: used on best average once a month for 2 hours.

I hope to get a drill someday soon as well. I've heard that a hand drill works just as well, so I'll be getting one of those. I read somewhere that it's better to use normal masonry bits for drilling rock as brick is MUCH harder than rock. (think about it - you'd be building your home from rock if it were stronger)

Silly games. I've been around since 2006, and what's wrong with toproping 16's anyway?

Absolutely, o0dball - a hand drill is definitely the way to go. I've seen them used to great effect before. They're way more eco-friendly and they make a lot less noise. And they won't be costing you an arm and a leg either.
Sure, drilling takes a bit longer than when you're using a Bosch or a Hilti, but if you're not prepared to put a little effort into it you shouldn't really be bolting, hey?

All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost.

\"a hand drill is definitely the way to go. I've seen them used to great effect before.\" I've placed a few bolts using tap-&-turn hand systems. Its major effort. It does force a bolter to be selective which can be a good thing.

Report back on the 18v Matabo drill: I returned mine on warrenty. This is what I expect from Matabo. Batteries are stuffed. It has seen limited use. 50 holes max. I with draw any implied recomendation.

I would love to see anybody drill into 'Boven rock with a hand drill! We would have saved thousands though if the bolters over the last 17 years were hand-bolting in stead of the trigger happy approach that sometimes take place...

Warren Harding, George Whitmore, and Wayne Merry are lashed to a hanging stance, 3000 feet up El Capitan. It's November. The days are cold and short, and afternoon shadows already streak up the wall beneath them. They gaze overhead, and despair: will they ever get off? Will it ever be over?

On this, their final push, the trio has been on the wall 11 days, twice as long as any American has ever spent on a rock climb. Below a pitched battle, every lead sieged. They've met obstacles no rock climber has ever seen, let alone mastered--wild pendulums, nailing expanding flakes, and the back-breaking task of hauling vast supplies up the cliff side. And now, only a 50-foot headwall bars them from the summit of the mightiest rock wall in the contiguous United States. But that headwall, that last 50 feet, is dead blank and overhanging. They'll have to retreat 350 feet to Camp 6 and a good ledge, and tackle the headwall in the morning.

There comes a point in every great climber's career when technique, or fitness, or even genius falls short, that moment when success depends on brute willpower. And just then, Warren Harding was marshaling his. Never mind the swollen hands, the mangled gear and frayed ropes; ignore the rats that gnawed through haul bags, the rain and sleet and chilling retreats or the running feud with rangers; and forget the private terrors and all the sleepless nights because finally, hanging in a web of tattered slings, Harding can nearly spit to the top. Light? He don't need no stinking light!

So Harding starts bolting. And in an epic no climber should ever forget, he hammers through the night, finally punches home the 28th and last bolt, and stumbles to the top just as dawn spills into the valley. The first ascent of The Nose, one of the greatest pure rock climbs in the world, is done. It is November 12, 1958.

\"If you dont even know what drill to use, how the #@ck are you gonna know how to place a bolt properly?\" There are lots of options. Bolting is quite easy. Hardest part is affording the hardware & carrying the drill in.

Hey there guy, I got the complete bolting system for sale, not used - meaning brand spanking new. cordless sds drill 24 v, capable of drilling 20mm diameter holes like a machine, i purchased a spare battery and high speed charger, includes carry case, includes hilti re-500 bolting glue and 2 cartridges, blow gun for cleaning hole, all included...